Gird Up Your Loins Pastor, Hardship Is Coming

215 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 2Ti 2:3, “You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.” (2 Tim 2:3) All those who are called to serve as pastors ought to pay attention to what is being said here. This is for you! You have been personally recruited and signed up to be a pastor by General Jesus Christ! Count the cost! You are about to experience your very own Valley Forge. Hardship is going to come your way! Before you say yes to this call, steel yourself to the fact that serving as a pastor is not always going to be a bed of roses! To be sure, all those who become followers of Christ are entering a war! But you, as a pastor, have a target on your back. It is an age old strategy of war to take out the leader, 1Ki 22:31 says, “Now the king of Syria had commanded the thirty-two captains of his chariots, saying, "Fight with no one small or great, but only with the king of Israel." Without a leader the troops become disorganized, disheartened and easier pickings for the enemy. In the past several years, much has been posted on the internet about pastors leaving the church in droves. Don't believe every thing you read on the internet, A popular figure given is 1700 leaving per month. In reality the number of pastor's leaving is closer to just 1 %. Ha! Maybe it would be better to say that 1700 are just TEMPTED to quit every month! The point the Holy Spirit is making here, is prospective pastors need to count the cost of serving as a leader in the Kingdom of God. Endurance will be necessary because hardship will come your way. Sometimes it will be extreme as was the case for Paul and also for pastors who serve today in regions where the church is persecuted. Other hardships are less extreme, but nonetheless make the role of pastor difficult. (Discouragement, doubt, difficult parishioners, can all take their toll.) Know that going in before you respond to the call and be prepared to endure any and all hardships that will come your way as a good soldier of Jesus Christ! But remember this also, it's not all gloom and doom! 1Ti 3:1says, “ This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work.”